Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote to concur with Senate amendments and pass a bill that authorizes confidential environmental audits by businesses.

Highlights:

Prohibits the use of any part of an audit report as evidence in an administrative proceeding or a civil action (Sec. 1).

Prohibits a state agency employee from requesting, reviewing or using an audit report during an inspection of a facility or its operations and activities (Sec. 1).

Prohibits an individual from testifying or producing a document related to an audit if that testimony or document discloses any “privileged” part of the audit (Sec. 1).

Authorizes an individual who conducted or participated in the audit and has observed physical events of a violation to testify regarding those events as long as the individual does not testify about or produce documents related to any “privileged” part of the audit (Sec. 1).

-Authorizes a court or administrative hearing official to require the disclosure of a portion of an audit report in a hearing if any of the following circumstances apply (Sec. 1):

The privilege is asserted for a fraudulent purpose;

The portion of the audit report is not subject to privilege; or

The portion of the audit report shows evidence of non-compliance with an environmental law and no efforts to comply.

Exempts the following information from privilege (Sec. 1):

Information required by a regulatory agency to be collected, developed, maintained or reported under environmental law;

Information obtained by observation or monitoring by a regulatory agency; and

Information obtained from a source not involved in the preparation of the environmental audit report.

Specifies that any employee or official of the State of Arizona who discloses information from a “privileged” audit has committed a Class 1 misdemeanor (Sec. 1).

Vote Result

Yea Votes

Nay Votes

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes confidential environmental audits by businesses.

Highlights:

Prohibits the use of any part of an audit report as evidence in an administrative proceeding or a civil action (Sec. 1).

Prohibits a state agency employee from requesting, reviewing or using an audit report during an inspection of a facility or its operations and activities (Sec. 1).

Prohibits an individual from testifying or producing a document related to an audit if that testimony or document discloses any “privileged” part of the audit (Sec. 1).

Authorizes an individual who conducted or participated in the audit and has observed physical events of a violation to testify regarding those events as long as the individual does not testify about or produce documents related to any “privileged” part of the audit (Sec. 1).

Authorizes a court or administrative hearing official to require the disclosure of a portion of an audit report in a hearing if any of the following circumstances apply (Sec. 1):

The privilege is asserted for a fraudulent purpose;

The portion of the audit report is not subject to privilege; or

The portion of the audit report shows evidence of non-compliance with an environmental law and no efforts to comply.

Exempts the following information from privilege (Sec. 1):

Information required by a regulatory agency to be collected, developed, maintained or reported under environmental law;

Information obtained by observation or monitoring by a regulatory agency; and

Information obtained from a source not involved in the preparation of the environmental audit report.

Specifies that any employee or official of the State of Arizona who discloses information from a “privileged” audit has committed a Class 1 misdemeanor (Sec. 1).